


Just Give Me a Reason

by SerenaElisabet



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Drama, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Romance, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-15
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-04 17:38:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1787443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenaElisabet/pseuds/SerenaElisabet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Casual, mindless sex with a stranger wasn’t really Jim’s thing and he knew the alcohol was clouding his judgement but something that he couldn’t describe attracted him to Kate. He figured one little one night stand wouldn’t hurt. He deserved to have some fun.  AU-ish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Just Give Me a Reason   
> Summary: Casual, mindless sex with a stranger wasn’t really Jim’s thing and he knew the alcohol was clouding his judgement but something that he couldn’t describe attracted him to Kate. He figured one little one night stand wouldn’t hurt. He deserved to have some fun.   
> Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for language.   
> Spoilers: None that I can think of.   
> Disclaimer: I don’t own The Newsroom or any of the characters; those belong to Aaron Sorkin and HBO. However, Kate is my OC and she is my own creation.   
> Author’s Note: This is somewhat Alternate Universe-ish. Takes place 2 months after ‘Election Night, Part II.’ Flashbacks that will appear later on in the story and throughout it to an extent will be in italics. Since this story largely focuses on Leona and the Lansing family, and since we don’t know the name of Leona’s ex-husband, I’ve named him Edward Lansing for the purposes of this story.

“A ratings expert, Charlie?” Will demanded, storming into Charlie Skinner’s office.   
Mackenzie was right behind him, “You’re bringing a ratings analyst in? Seriously, Charlie?”  
Charlie chuckled and took a sip of his bourbon.   
Will and Mac were giving him incredulous looks of disapproval.   
“The show’s ratings are fine!” Will insisted.   
Charlie took another sip of bourbon and nodded, “The ratings are excellent.”  
“So why the hell are you bringing a ratings expert in?” Mackenzie asked.   
“It’s a favor for an,” Charlie paused. “An old friend.”   
“Are our jobs in jeopardy?” Will asked.  
Charlie shook his head. “The daughter of this friend of mine needed a job. The ratings are fine. Your jobs are safe. I’m just helping my friend’s daughter get some money together.”   
            “Well, who is she anyway?” Will asked, still annoyed.   
            “Her name is Katherine Adams. She’s one of the best in the business,” Charlie said.   
            “And who’s your friend?” Mackenzie asked.   
Charlie frowned, “I can’t reveal that.”   
Will and Mac gave more incredulous looks and sighs.   
            “She’s arriving tomorrow night around five-thirty, right before the six o’clock rundown. I expect everyone to welcome her with open arms,” Charlie said.   
Mac sighed, “Fine.”   
Will gave Charlie a disgruntled nod before he and Mac exited Charlie’s office.   
* * *   
Jim Harper took another sip from his whiskey and ginger ale. He was sitting alone in a random dive bar that was up the street from the AWM offices. He couldn’t face going to Hang Chew’s with the rest of the gang tonight. It had been a long and frustrating day, both in terms of his work life and his personal life. Hallie had dumped him that day; the long distance stuff just wasn’t cutting it and Maggie was beginning to finally move on from her Africa ordeal and she had started dating guy from ACN’s marketing department.   
            “Is this seat taken?”  
Jim was broken away from his thoughts. He looked to his left and he saw a beautiful 5’11 blonde women gesturing to the barstool beside him. She was wearing a royal blue dress that Jim now knew, thanks to Maggie, was called a bandage dress. She was tall and leggy with plump lips and she had the biggest, most gorgeous brown eyes Jim had ever seen.  Jim figured she was in her late twenties, around the same age as him.   
            “Go ahead,” Jim said.   
            “Thanks,” the woman said.   
She extended her hand out, “I’m Kate.”   
            “Jim.”  
Jim shook hands with her.   
            “So what brings you to a dive like this?” Jim asked.  
            “I could ask you the same thing,” Kate said.   
            “Touché,” Jim said.  
Kate smirked.   
Something about her smirk looked familiar to Jim but he couldn’t place where he’d seen it before.   
            “I’m starting a new job tomorrow,” Kate mused.   
            “And that’s why you came here?” Jim asked.   
            Kate nodded, “Enjoying my last few hours of freedom. “  
The bartender placed a cosmopolitan in front of her.   
            “How about you? What’s your story?” Kate asked.   
            “My girlfriend dumped me today,” Jim admitted.   
            “Ohh, ouch!” Kate said, wincing.  
Jim shrugged, “What can you do?”   
Kate smiled a little. “How about I buy you another drink then?”   
Jim smiled for what felt like the first time that day. He liked Kate. “Sure.”  
Kate smiled back and ordered Jim another whiskey and ginger ale.   
* * *  
A couple hours later and more than a few drinks later, Jim and Kate were making out outside the bar while they tried to hail a cab. Casual, mindless sex with a stranger wasn’t really Jim’s thing and he knew the alcohol was clouding his judgement but something that he couldn’t describe attracted him to Kate. He figured one little one night stand wouldn’t hurt. He deserved to have some fun.   
After a few minutes of trying, Kate managed to hail a cab and told the driver her address.   
Kate bit her lip, “There is something you should know before we continue.”   
“What?” Jim asked.   
“I’m living with my mom for now,” Kate admitted. “It’s a really long story. But my mom will probably be asleep by now. We don’t have to try to be quiet or anything. She’s usually had her nightly bottle of Chardonnay by now—”  
Jim silenced her with a kiss.   
* * *

Jim squinted. Sunlight poured in through the bedroom window.   
 _Wait. This isn’t my bedroom_ , Jim realized as he noticed the pink walls and the posters on the walls of 90s teen idols.   
He felt a warm body beside him and heard her quiet shallow breathing. The events of last night came flooding back to him. He had met a woman, Kate, that night at a bar and had gone with her to the penthouse apartment that she shared with her mother. He and Kate had made drunken, passionate love that night. But now it was back to reality. Jim’s head pounded and his vision was a little blurry. He reached for his watch on Kate’s nightstand.   
 _6:43 AM_. He had just enough time to go home to his own apartment to shower and change before his workday started. As he was reaching for his pants that were on the floor beside Kate’s bed, he accidentally knocked over a picture frame that she had on her nightstand.   
“Shit!” he quietly cursed, picking up the frame. Luckily it hadn’t broken. As he put the picture back on the nightstand he had to do a double take. He recognized the people in the picture with Kate. Reese Lansing was to her left and Leona Lansing to her right. It appeared to be a photo of a high school or college graduation. As Jim’s vision returned back to normal, he noticed other things in Kate’s room. She had a collage of pictures taped to one bedroom wall. Pictures of her as a little girl, pictures of her with Reese, with Leona, with a man who Jim assumed was her father.   
 _Wait_ , Jim thought.  _This can’t be happening. This really can’t be happening_.  
The realization hit Jim like a ton of bricks. He had slept with Leona Lansing’s daughter.   
  
  
  
To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

_3 Weeks Earlier_

_“The asshole cheated on her,” Leona said.  
It was around midnight on a Tuesday night. Charlie and Leona were sitting in Charlie’s office discussing Leona’s daughter Kate’s marital woes. Charlie was drinking his usual bourbon and Leona was nursing a vodka soda. There was an empty pizza box in between them. Because of the Genoa situation the two of them had decided to put their differences aside. They were actually becoming friends again, like they used to be before AWM was even created.   
“I never trusted that motherfucker,” Leona said, wagging her right index finger back and forth. “Didn’t I tell you that at the wedding? The guy was sketchy from day one.”  
Charlie sighed, “I’m sorry to hear that. Poor Kate.”   
“Meanwhile, she’s been living in the middle of nowhere—”  
“It was Sacramento, Lee. Not the middle of nowhere,” Charlie interrupted.   
Leona waved her hand, “Psst, it’s practically the middle of nowhere. She left the workforce for three years to be a fucking **housewife** married to a sleazy politician. I thought I taught her better than that. No one’s going to hire her after they see that three year gap in her resume. Nevertheless, she’s decided to move back to New York. But of course she can’t just get her own place. She wants to live with **me**.”   
“And you want me to get her a job here so that she’s out of your apartment faster?” Charlie guessed.   
“Bingo! A gold star for you,” Leona said, taking a sip of her drink.   
“I could give her a six month contract as a ratings analyst for _ News Night _,” Charlie suggested.  
“That’s perfect. The sooner she has enough money to move out of my place and into her own, the better,” Leona replied.   
“Then it’s settled,” Charlie said. “She can start in a couple of weeks.”   
“Wonderful,” Leona said.   
“Maybe her moving in with you will be good for the both of you,” Charlie offered.   
Leona scoffed, “We’ve barely spoken to each other in the last ten years.”   
“Exactly,” Charlie said. “You two used to be two peas in a pod before Kate went off to college. Maybe you two will reconnect. I know how much you adore her.”   
Leona started blinking rapidly.   
“And Reese must be excited that she’s moving back to the city,” Charlie said.   
“He is,” Leona said, pursing her lips together.   
Charlie knew she did that when she was trying not to cry. He knew becoming estranged from Kate had been difficult for her. From the time Kate was seven until she moved to California at age eighteen to attend the University of Southern California, they had been a team of two and they were incredibly close. Because Kate had been a later-in-life pregnancy for Leona, time became more precious for Leona which led to Leona cherishing Kate dearly. After Kate’s birth, Leona had become hyper aware of time passing. Despite her claims that she was invincible and immortal, in her heart Leona knew that she’d probably only live to see Kate turn 40, 50 if she was lucky. When their relationship became strained during Kate’s freshman year at USC, Charlie knew it hit Leona **hard**.   
“Maybe you’re right,” Leona suddenly said to Charlie. She was still blinking back her tears. She gulped down the rest of her drink.   
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.   
Charlie knew she was probably nervous because of the display of emotion and that was the cause for the abrupt goodbye. At times like this, it was best to just let Leona be.   
“See you tomorrow,” Charlie echoed.   
He watched her leave his office and head towards the elevators. Offering Kate a job at _ News Night _was the least he could do, he thought. He knew how much Kate and Leona loved each other (even though they didn’t want to admit it). If working and living together was what it was going to take for them to reconcile, then Charlie was happy to oblige Leona’s request that he offer Kate a position with Atlantis Cable News. She’d make a great addition to the team._  
* * *   
PRESENT

For the past five minutes, Jim had been standing in the same spot in Kate’s bedroom unsure what to do. Kate was still asleep and he figured Leona would be awake soon. He really had to pee but he didn’t know where the bathroom was and he didn’t want to risk running into Leona. Suddenly, Kate started stirring.   
“Hey,” Jim whispered.   
“Morning, sunshine,” Kate said.   
“Where’s the bathroom?” Jim asked. His bladder felt like it was about to explode by now and maybe he wouldn’t see Leona.   
“Across the hall,” Kate said. “But be careful, my mom will be awake any minute. She’s an early riser.”   
Jim just nodded, “Right.”  
Not bothering to put on his pants or his shirt, wearing nothing except his boxers, Jim walked across the hallway to the bathroom.   
* * *  
After doing his business—in the biggest and most extravagant bathroom he had ever been in, in his entire life—Jim was washing his hands when he heard noises coming from the farthest end of the hallway. Was Leona awake?  
Jim peeked his head from out of the bathroom door. Leona was exiting the master bedroom which was at the end of the hallway. She didn’t look like the Leona Lansing he was used to seeing. She was wearing a cream colored silk robe, her hair was all over the place, her face was makeup free and she had black rimmed glasses perched atop her nose. She was yawning.   
Maybe he’d be able to make it back to Kate’s room without Leona seeing him, he thought.   
He exited the bathroom and was standing just outside Kate’s bedroom when he heard a sharp, female voice behind him.   
“Mr. Harper?”   
Jim nervously turned around.   
“Ms-Mrs. L-Lansing,” he stammered out.    
  
TBC...   
__  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Half an hour later, Jim, Leona and Kate were sitting around the kitchen island in Leona’s massive state-of-the-art kitchen reading the morning paper, drinking green smoothies and eating pancakes that had been prepared by one of Leona’s assistants. It was a very different scene than the one that had played out half an hour earlier. Leona had started yelling at Jim to put his clothes on and to “get the fuck out” of her apartment. Thank God, Kate had intervened after hearing the yelling. Jim had actually been scared for his life. Kate had calmed her mother down and convinced Leona to let Jim stay for breakfast. Somehow (thankfully) it hadn’t come out that Jim worked for ACN or that he knew Leona in some capacity.   


            This was one of the most surreal moments in Jim’s life. He felt like he was in the _Twilight Zone_. Leona Lansing—Leona Fucking Lansing—was sitting directly across from him reading the paper and sipping on a smoothie. She was dressed now in a beige power suit and pearls. Her hair and makeup was done to perfection. She was still wearing her reading glasses. Kate was wearing her pajamas and Jim was in his clothing from the day before.  He couldn’t believe that he had gotten himself into this situation just by having a one night stand with a stranger. He knew there was a reason he avoided one night stands.   
As he finished eating his breakfast, he checked his watch. He realized he was cutting it close if he wanted to stop by his apartment to freshen up before work.   
“Listen I have to go, I’m going to be late for work,” he began, pausing at the word work to see if it elicited a reaction from Leona but she appeared to be deeply engrossed in the newspaper article she was reading. “So I’m going to get going. Thanks for the...hospitality.”   
Leona looked up from the newspaper to glare at him at the word “hospitality.”   
Kate ignored her mother. “I’ll go down to the lobby with you.”  
Jim nodded, “Bye Mrs...”  
He had to pretend he didn’t know Leona’s name.   
“Lansing,” Kate said.   
“Bye, Mrs. Lansing,” Jim said.   
Leona only nodded in his direction.  
Kate and Jim walked into the hallway and they stepped into the waiting elevator.   
“So...” Jim began as the elevator began its descent down to the condo building’s lobby.   
“So...” Kate said, awkwardly.   
“Last night was fun,” Jim said.   
“It was,” Kate agreed. “And listen, I’m really sorry about my mother. She doesn’t understand that I’m not her little girl anymore, that I’m an adult who’s allowed to bring men home.”  
“No worries,” Jim said. He wondered how tough it must be for Kate, being the daughter of one of the most powerful women in New York City and the rest of America even.   
“So...I’ll see you around?” Kate said.   
“Yeah, see you around,” Jim said casually as the elevator doors opened.   
Jim stepped off the elevator and heard the elevator doors close behind him as Kate went back upstairs. He realized frantically that he should have asked Kate for her number. Even though it was supposed to be a one night stand, he and Hallie had broken up less than 24 hours before, and she was the daughter of Leona Lansing, Jim was smitten with her. It was too late though, the elevator had already started going up again and Jim would be late for work if he went back upstairs. He didn’t want to face Leona’s wrath either (hopefully she wouldn’t make a visit to the newsroom that day). Kate would just be another random encounter; even though she was Leona’s daughter, he’d probably never see Kate again (he hadn’t even known that Leona had another child besides Reese) and this made him sadder than he wanted to admit.   
* * *  
“Do you know who that was?” Leona snapped when Kate walked back into the apartment.   
Kate shrugged, “No. Why? Was he someone important?”   
“Jim Harper is a senior producer at Atlantis Cable News. And you know what show he works for? _News Night_!” Leona yelled. “The show that you’re the new ratings expert for; a job that you’re supposed to report to this evening.”  
Kate brought her hands to her mouth. She honestly had no idea. But things were coming together now. She had felt a weird tense vibe between Jim and her mother; worse than the usual tense vibes that occurred when Kate brought men to the apartment that Leona didn’t approve of.   
“The ink on your divorce papers is barely dry!” Leona snapped. “How could you do this to me? Things are already tense enough at ACN because of the goddamn Genoa scandal!”   
“Mom, I—”  
Leona waved her hand, “I don’t want to hear it. This is what happens when you have one night stands without bothering to get to know the person first. My town car is here. I have a morning meeting and I can’t be late. This will stay our little secret, okay? I won’t tell anyone at _News Night_ or ACN what transpired if you promise to keep it professional with Jim.”   
“Deal,” Kate said, feeling foolish. She had no idea how she would face Jim or any of _News Night_ ’s other employees when she reported to work that evening.   
“Thank you,” Leona said, grabbing her purse and her briefcase. “Did you use condoms at least?”  
“ _Mom_!” Kate said, in a disgusted tone of voice.   
“Kate,” Leona sternly said.  
Kate rolled her eyes, “Duh! Of course we used condoms.”   
“Good,” Leona answered, nodding.   
“Oh, and mom?” Kate said.   
“What?” Leona asked, extremely annoyed with Kate by now.   
“I _hate_ pancakes,” Kate answered with a venomous tone in her voice before she stormed off to her bedroom and slammed the door.   
* * *

Jim arrived at the ACN offices that morning with minutes to spare. Upon sitting down at his desk in the ACN newsroom, first thing he did was check the news alerts. He didn’t see anything urgent however.  He sighed. He had been feeling funny all morning because of his encounter with Leona; an encounter that had occurred in the weirdest way possible. He had been cursing himself all morning. How could he have been so stupid? He thought Kate had a familiar quality about her from the first moment he met her. After thinking about it during his commute to work, he realized that Kate was the spitting image of her mother. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t made the connection when he first met her at the bar. He could blame the alcohol he supposed but he still felt stupid regardless. 

 He decided he needed to do some research and figure out who Kate was since he hadn’t even heard of her existence until now. He opened up the AWM online archives and typed ‘ _Kate Lansing_ ’ into the search box.

 _No results_.

Jim sighed. He decided to try ‘ _Katherine Lansing_ ’. A few newspaper articles popped up. Jim clicked on the first one which was dated August 26, 1984. It was a birth announcement announcing Kate’s arrival.

  
  
_On August 25, 1984, the current owners and operators of Atlantis World Media, **Leona Lansing, 43** , and **Edward Lansing the III, 46** , became parents to their second child, a girl they named **Katherine Abigail Lansing**. The couple has one other child, **Reese Edward Lansing, age 11**. Katherine arrived two months premature and is currently in critical condition in Mount Sinai’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The family asks that you respect their wishes for privacy at this time as they deal with this event. _

_Hmmmm, interesting_ , Jim thought.   


Next, he found a few tabloid articles from 1989 about Leona and Edward’s high profile divorce that Kate and Reese were mentioned in. He was reading one of them when he saw Mackenzie approaching his desk. He quickly clicked out of the article.   
“Hey,” Mackenzie chirped.   
“Morning,” Jim said.   
“Everything okay?” Mackenzie asked. She had seen Jim quickly click away from whatever he was reading as she approached his desk.   
“Yeah, just, you know, doing research for a story,” Jim lied.   
“Hmmm, okay,” Mackenzie said. “Well, Charlie wants all senior staff in the conference room at five-thirty to meet the new ratings expert.”   
“Yeah, no problem,” Jim said.   
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Mackenzie asked Jim. He wasn’t acting like his usual self.   
Jim sighed. He knew he couldn’t lie to Mackenzie. She knew him too well.   
“Hallie and I broke up yesterday,” Jim admitted. It wasn’t a total lie.   
“Oh, Jim. I’m so sorry,” Mackenzie said.   
“Thanks,” Jim said, sighing. “I’ll be alright though.”   
“Well if you need anything at all, you know that I’m here for you,” Mackenzie said, rubbing Jim’s shoulder.   
Jim nodded, “I know. Thanks.”  
“Anytime,” Mackenzie said. “See you at the rundown.”   
“See you then,” Jim said.   
He watched Mackenzie walk away before he once again opened up the article about the Lansing divorce and continued reading. It had already been a strange and surreal day for Jim and he had no idea that his day was going to get even weirder.

To Be Continued   



	4. Chapter 4

_3 weeks earlier_

_“ACN, mom? Atlantis Cable News? News Night? Seriously, mom?” Kate said to Leona after Leona broke the news that she had gotten Kate a job as a ratings analyst for News Night. They were sitting beside each other on the couch in Leona’s office._  
 _“It’s a job!” Leona argued. “You’re lucky Charlie found an opening for you. You should be grateful for the opportunity!”_  
 _“The last thing I want to be doing is working for **you** ,” Kate said._  
 _Leona scoffed, “You work for Charlie, not for me.”_  
 _Now it was Kate’s turn to scoff. “You own the company! And Reese is Charlie’s boss! The last time I worked for you two you insulted me and turned your noses down at me every chance you got.”_  
 _Kate had taken an internship at AWM in her sophomore year of college and it had been a disaster._  
 _“I have more faith in you now. You’re older and you have some experience...but not much,” Leona said._  
 _Kate rolled her eyes. Her mother couldn’t wait to make a dig at Kate._  
 _“Don’t roll your eyes at me!” Leona snapped._  
 _“Don’t criticize me,” Kate snipped back._  
 _Leona sighed, “I’m sorry, Kitty Cat.”_  
 _“ **Don’t** call me Kitty Cat,” Kate said._  
 _“But you’re my Kitty Cat,” Leona replied._  
 _Kate rolled her eyes, “I’m not five years old anymore.”_  
 _Leona sighed again, “I get why you’re upset. But this is the best opportunity that is available to you right now. Trust me.”_  
 _Kate looked down._  
 _“Reese and I will stay out of your way. I promise,” Leona said._  
 _She reached for Kate’s hand. Kate reluctantly took it._  
 _“So, you’ll take the job?” Leona asked, hopefully._  
 _Kate sighed, “I’ll take it.”_  
 _Leona smiled, more so to herself than at Kate._  
 _“Charlie is going to phone you tomorrow morning with the details,” Leona said._  
 _“There’s one condition.  You have to leave me alone and let me do my job. I’m only taking orders from Charlie and his team,” Kate said._  
 _“Deal,” Leona said. She squeezed Kate’s hand. “This will be good for you.”_  
 _“Yeah, whatever, mom,” Kate said. She let go of Leona’s hand. “I’m going to go home and unpack my stuff so I’ll see you at home tonight I guess.”_  
 _Leona weakly smiled, “See you tonight.”_  
 _Kate got up and started walking towards the door._  
 _“Kate?” Leona said._  
 _Kate turned around, “Yeah?”_  
 _“I’m glad you’re taking the job, sweetheart,” Leona said, genuinely smiling at Kate._  
 _Kate just sighed and nodded._  
 _“And... I love you, sweetie,” Leona said._  
 _“Um, okay,” Kate responded, not knowing what else to say. Leona’s last comment had caught her off guard. Leona never said ‘I love you’ to her. Instead of saying ‘I love you’ back, she simply left Leona’s office and closed the door behind her._  
* * *  
PRESENT

It was 5:40 on a Tuesday evening. Charlie, Mackenzie, Will, Sloan, and Jim were sitting in the conference room awaiting the arrival of _News Night’s_ new ratings expert.  
Charlie checked his watch; she was a few minutes late. He could tell that his co-workers were getting agitated. They were annoyed enough about the fact that he had brought in a ratings expert. But he couldn’t tell them the whole story. Not yet.  
“I’m sure she’ll be here shortly. Tardiness isn’t like her,” Charlie said.  
Will loudly sighed, “We don’t have all night, Charlie.”  
“Oh, I think that’s her,” Mackenzie said, as she saw a tall blonde approaching the conference room.  
“Wow, she’s gorgeous,” Sloan blurted out.  
Kate opened the door to the conference room and stepped inside.  
“Uncle Charlie!” She squealed, running over to Charlie  
“Katie!” Charlie said, enveloping Kate into a hug.  
“‘Uncle Charlie’?” Will mouthed to Mackenzie in confusion.  
Mackenzie just shrugged.  
“How are you, kiddo?” Charlie asked.  
Kate grinned, “I’m great.”  
Sloan glanced at Jim out of the corner of her eye. He was nervously looking down at the ground. Sloan was just as confused as Will and Mackenzie were about who Katherine was.  
“Everyone, meet your new ratings expert, Katherine,” Charlie said.  
“Call me Kate,” Kate said. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”  
She felt awkward as fuck but she had decided to put on a front. She hoped she was doing a good job at hiding her nerves. She noticed Jim in the conference room, hanging back from the rest of the group, but he was nervously looking at the floor. He must have noticed her, too.  
Charlie started making introductions. “Will McAvoy, managing editor and anchor; Mackenzie McHale, EP; Sloan Sabbith, Senior Financial Reporter for _News Night_ ; and Jim Harper, _News Night’s_ senior producer.”  
Kate’s breath hitched in her throat even though she knew it was coming. Jim looked shocked himself. At least her mother had given her a head’s up. Jim had had no warning whatsoever about Kate’s arrival.  
“Um, nice to meet you,” Kate said to Jim, trying to play it cool.  
“Nice to meet you as well,” Jim said, taking a deep breath, hoping his shock and nervousness wasn’t showing.  
They noticed other staff milling outside the conference room, waiting for the six o’clock rundown meeting.  
“Let’s get down to business,” Kate said, trying to ignore Jim. She was going to keep it professional between them for her mother’s sake. “Charlie says you guys have a rundown at six. I’d like to sit in and listen if that’s all right. So I can get a feel of things.”  
“Yeah, no problem,” Mackenzie said. She didn’t like that this Kate woman was invading her turf but she was going to honor Charlie’s wishes and welcome Kate to _News Night_.  
Charlie opened the door to the conference room so that the rest of the staff could be let in. He introduced Kate to the rest of the staff as they entered the room. While the _News Night_ team had their rundown meeting, Kate sat quietly in the background, taking notes and observing the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the staff started filing out of the room so that they could go make the final preparations for that night’s broadcast.  
“HR didn’t get back to me about your office yet so you can share with me in the meantime,” Charlie said to Kate.  
Kate smiled, “Sounds good. Thanks, Charlie.”  
Charlie smiled back, “No problem. See you later.”  
He left the conference room. Soon, Kate and Jim were the only remaining people in the room.  
Kate awkwardly gathered up her papers, trying not to make eye contact with Jim.  
“Katherine _Adams_?” Jim questioned.  
Kate sighed and shook her head, “It’s a long story.”  
She finally looked at Jim. Jim stared back at her intensely.  
“I think for the sake of our jobs and my family, we need to keep things professional between us,” Kate said.  
“I can do professional,” Jim said.    
“No one needs to know about last night,” Kate responded.  
“Agreed,” Jim replied. “Nobody can know.”  
“Then that’s settled,” Kate said, stuffing her papers and her files into the briefcase she had borrowed from her mother.  
Jim simply nodded. “We’ll keep things professional.”  
Kate nodded back in response and turned around. As she headed for Charlie’s office she realized that it was going to be an interesting six months.

TBC...  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating!

It had been a week since Kate had started working for _News Night_ and everything was going well. The staff seemed to like her and everyone appreciated her presence, even Will and Mackenzie. Jim and Kate had managed to keep their relationship professional so far and no one had any clue that they had had a one night stand the night before Kate had started working for _News Night_. One afternoon, Charlie and Will were having lunch in Charlie’s office and discussing the past night’s broadcast.   
“So, are you going to tell me who Kate really is?” Will suddenly asked.   
Charlie shrugged, pretending not to know what Will was talking about even though he knew full well what Will was asking.   
“Charlie, come on. Are you going to tell me who this friend of yours who you’re doing this favor for, is?” Will said.   
“I can’t, Will. I’m sorry,” Charlie said. “I made a promise to her and her mother.”   
“So it’s a woman friend?” Will retorted.   
Charlie bit his lip, fearing he had revealed too much already.   
“You don’t have that many friends outside of work, Charlie. We’re going to figure it out eventually,” Will said.   
Charlie shrugged again.   
“It’s not that I don’t like Kate, I surprisingly do. It’s just that keeping secrets isn’t like you, Charlie,” Will responded.   
“I hate keeping it a secret. But it’s for the best,” Charlie responded.   
Will took a sip of his coke. He had his suspicions about Charlie’s “friend” because Kate reminded him of a certain lady who worked on the forty-fourth floor but at the same time, he thought maybe it was just a coincidence. He hadn’t dared voiced his suspicions to anyone in case it was really, just coincidental. He suddenly heard the door to Charlie’s office open behind him.   
“Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting. I thought Charlie was alone.”  
Will turned around. Leona Lansing was standing there in a white blouse, high-waisted black dress pants and her signature pearls.   
“No, its fine. I’ll leave you two alone. We’re finished,” Will said, sensing that Leona wanted to talk to Charlie about something serious. Leona _rarely_ came down to the newsroom during working hours, unless it was something extremely important. Will’s suspicions about Kate nagged in the back of his mind as he got up to leave Charlie’s office and go back to work. Leona _had_ been coming down to the newsroom _a lot more_ than usual lately...   
“Thanks, McAvoy,” Leona said.   
“No problem. Have a nice day, Leona,” Will replied before leaving Charlie’s office.

“Do you need something, Leona?” Charlie asked. Leona coming down to Charlie’s office in the middle of an afternoon was strange. She had been visiting him more often now that Kate had started working for _News Night_ but usually it was late at night when Charlie was the only person still at work; just to be safe to make sure that no one figured out Kate was Leona’s daughter. Leona closed the office door.   
“Reese and Rebecca have been dating for two months,” Leona blurted out.   
“Excuse me?” Charlie said, not quite comprehending what he just heard.   
Leona nodded, “Right? They just told me. They began seeing each other a few weeks after the election. He broke up with the rockette.”  
Leona shook her head in disgust.   
“Okay, Leona. Just calm down,” Charlie soothed.   
“This is crazy! Absolutely crazy!” Leona ranted. “She’s my best friend! She’s old enough to be his mother!”  
“Lee,” Charlie said.   
“Okay, maybe his aunt,” Leona corrected herself. “It’s so weird though. She’s known him since he was sixteen.” She shuddered. “I need a drink.”  
Charlie nodded, “And a drink you will get.”   
Leona sat down in the chair Will had previously been occupying.   
“And did I tell you that Kate slept with your senior producer, Jim Harper?” Leona admitted. “I found him in my apartment hallway one morning, half-naked last week. They met at a bar, neither one of them had any clue that they would be co-workers the next day.”   
Charlie stopped pouring Leona’s vodka, in shock. He slowly put the bottle of vodka down.   
“Really now?” Charlie calmly said.   
Leona nodded, “Mmmm hmmm. What the hell is wrong with my children?”   
“The heart wants what the heart wants,” Charlie answered. “You and I know that better than anyone.”  
Leona nodded in agreement, “Keep pouring, mister!”  
Charlie obeyed.   
“I can’t believe she slept with one of the idiots out there,” Leona said, gesturing in the direction of the bull pen. “She sure does have terrible taste in men. I can’t believe she’s my daughter sometimes.”  
“Jim’s not an idiot, he’s a good guy,” Charlie assured Leona. “You wouldn’t have to worry if they ended up dating each other.”   
“Whatever,” Leona said; reaching for the straight vodka on the rocks Charlie had just made for her.   
“I just hope it doesn’t cause problems for _News Night_. Now that Will and Mac are happy, and Sloan and Don are together, we’ve been free of relationship drama for months. I’d like to keep it that way,” Charlie said.   
“I told them to keep it professional,” Leona assured Charlie. “Didn’t you tell me Jim was dating that Margie May girl?”  
“Maggie,” Charlie corrected Leona. “Nope, they never ended up together. Last I heard Maggie was dating someone from the marketing department. Jim was dating Hallie—”  
“Who’s Hallie?” Leona asked, curiously.   
“Oh, never mind,” Charlie said. “She was just a reporter he met while he was covering the Romney campaign. Mackenzie told me they broke it off.”   
Both of them took a sip from their drinks at the same time.   
“Hey, if Maggie’s dating someone from marketing, do you think she could score me some of that really amazing pot they have up there?” Leona pondered.   
Charlie just chuckled and shook his head at Leona.   
“If Kate does end up dating Jim, she’ll be fine. You know I’d never let anything bad happen to her, right? She’s our girl,” Charlie said.  
Leona just smiled across the desk at Charlie.   
“Right,” she said, nodding.   
“You _slept with my baby sister_!?” They suddenly heard coming from the newsroom.   
Charlie’s eyes got wide. “You told Reese?”  
“Of course I told Reese,” Leona replied, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. “He’s the only paternal influence she has in her life so...”   
Leona stopped speaking, suddenly realizing what was happening. She put down her drink on Charlie’s desk and quickly stood up. Charlie followed suit. Both of them ran out of Charlie’s office and down the stairs into the bull pen as fast as they could. Reese had Jim in a headlock at Jim’s desk.  The whole newsroom staff had stopped what they were doing to come and see what was going on.   
“Reese,” Rebecca said. “Its okay let him go.” She had been at the ACN offices that day, doing some work for the upcoming Genoa trial.   
“Reese, get off him,” Will said, standing behind the two men, ready to pull Reese off of Jim.   
Kate came running out of her office, “What the hell is going on!?”  
“You let this asshole touch you?” Reese asked Kate.  
 Kate groaned, “Don’t worry about it, Reese. Let go of him.”   
Leona came up behind Reese, “its okay, Reese.”   
She put her hand on Reese’s shoulder. With Will’s help, Leona was able to peel Reese off of Jim.  
 This is how the News Night staff learned that Kate was Leona’s daughter. Not only that, but they also learned about Kate and Jim’s one night stand; all of this occurring within a matter of minutes. Kate, Leona, and Charlie could already see people whispering into each other’s ears; the office gossip had begun. Kate put her head in her hands feeling totally and completely embarrassed. There was no way that she could still work for _News Night_ after this incident...

TBC...   



	6. Chapter 6

            “I’m really sorry about what happened downstairs earlier,” Reese said to Kate.   
It was a few hours after the “incident” had occurred and Kate had been hiding out in Reese’s office ever since it happened. She was pissed off at what he had done to Jim, and she was angry that it had exposed all her secrets, but Reese was still her older brother and she had nowhere else to go. She couldn’t face her co-workers right now, especially Jim and Charlie.   
“I guess I just projected my anger at Mark onto Jim,” Reese continued, referring to Kate’s ex-husband. “I always wanted to do that to Mark. He wasn’t right for you. He was a jackass.”  
Kate shrugged, “They say hindsight is 20/20.”  
Reese sighed, “Yeah.”  
“I guess I can forgive you,” Kate said.   
Reese weakly smiled, “Yeah?”  
Kate smiled, “Yes. You’re forgiven.”  
“Thanks, sis,” Reese said, with his dopey grin.   
“No problem,” Kate said. “I understand why you did it. I do. You were trying to protect me. I get it. But I don’t need protecting. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m nearly thirty years old for god’s sake.”   
“You’re right, Kate. I’m sorry,” Reese repeated. “But Jim Harper? Of all the people you could have slept with you choose that loser?”   
“Jim is not a loser!” Kate argued. “And you’re sleeping with Aunt Becca which is weird and gross so you don’t get to have an opinion about _my_ love life.”  
“We fell in love, what can I say?” Reese replied, referring to his relationship with Rebecca Halliday.   
“Doesn’t that create a massive conflict of interest or something in the Genoa trial?” Kate questioned.   
“We’re keeping our relationship on the down low. We’ll figure something out before the trial,” Reese answered.   
Kate grabbed a piece of scrap paper off of Reese’s desk, scrunched it up into a ball and threw it at Reese’s head.   
“You are such a dork sometimes,” she said.   
Reese just chuckled which gave Kate a case of the giggles.   
“I’m dating Rebecca, you slept with Jim Harper. Jesus, Mom is probably having a field day right now,” Reese realized, causing him to laugh harder.   
“Oh yeah,” Kate replied, still laughing.   
She smiled; she had missed spending time with Reese and laughing like this with him. She was glad that she and Reese could laugh about their crazy mother together.   
As if right on cue, Leona walked into Reese’s office unannounced, as she often did.   
“You need to get back to work, Kate,” she said. “You’ve been up here for hours.”  
Kate sighed.   
“I talked to Charlie and Will. Everything’s fine. You’re not losing your job,” Leona said.   
Kate still didn’t get up from the chair she was sitting in.   
“Kate,” Leona sternly said.   
“You should go back to work, sis,” Reese agreed. “It’s nearly six o’clock.”  
“I don’t want to,” Kate simply said. “I like it up here.”  
“Katherine Abigail Lansing, get your ass downstairs right now!” Leona ordered.   
Kate stood up. When her mother used her full name, her mother meant _business_. She used her maiden name, at that. Leona wasn’t fucking around. The consequences for not going back to work would be greater than whatever consequences she had waiting for her downstairs at the newsroom.   
“Good luck,” Reese mouthed to her before she left his office and headed towards the elevators.   
* * *  
When Kate went back to work, her _News Night_ co-workers kept her at arm’s length. She was sure it had more to do with her being Leona Lansing’s daughter and less to do with the fact that she had slept with Jim. Everyone was now having their final evening rundown, just before that night’s broadcast. There was an awkward tension in the room because of Kate’s presence.   
“Can I say something?” Kate blurted out, interrupting whatever Mackenzie had just been saying.   
“Well I don’t like that you interrupted me, but go ahead,” Mackenzie said in an exasperated tone of voice.   
“Nothing changes just because I’m Leona’s daughter,” Kate began. “I work for you guys. Not for her or my brother.”   
“Really? You’re not your mother’s proxy?” Will said defensively. Even though his suspicions about Kate had been confirmed, he wasn’t happy that he had been right about her.   
“Yeah, you’re probably a spy for your mother,” Neal said.   
“I’m not! I swear!” Kate argued. She could feel hot tears stinging her eyes, threatening to spill over. Where was Charlie when she needed him?   
“Knock it off,” Jim said to Neal and Will.   
“Fine, Loverboy,” Neal said to Jim.   
“Would you like to join us for drinks tonight after the show?” Mackenzie suddenly asked Kate. “I think we all just need to get to know you better.”  
Kate regained her composure and took a deep breath. “That would be nice.”   
Mackenzie smiled, “Great! There’s a place we all go to across the street from here called Hang Chew’s. Meet us there around ten.”  
* * *  
“Well, she’s definitely Leona’s daughter,” Will remarked as he watched Kate down shots of vodka at the bar that was across the room. Will, Sloan, Don, Mackenzie, and Jim were all sitting at a table in Hang Chew’s together. Their entertainment was watching all the men who were coming up to Kate and offering to buy her a drink. Then they watched and waited to see if she accepted or rejected the offer.   
“What is that? Her eighth or ninth drink?” Will questioned. “She isn’t drunk at all.”  
“It’s impressive,” Don commented.   
“She’s her mother’s daughter for sure,” Mackenzie remarked.   
“”The only other person I know with that kind of an alcohol tolerance is Charlie Skinner,” Sloan said, impressed by Kate’s ability to hold her liquor.   
“Oh, God,” Don said, face palming as he watched Neal approach Kate and start flirting with her. Despite his coldness towards her at the rundown meeting earlier, Neal had been talking and flirting with Kate ever since she arrived at the bar a few hours before.   
“I think someone has a little crush on Kate,” Will said about Neal. He looked over at Jim after he said it.   
Jim shrugged in response.   
They watched as Kate let Neal buy her a cocktail and then she started walking over to their table. She was a tad unsteady on her feet.   
“Okay, maybe she is drunk,” Will realized.   
“Or it could be the six inch heels she’s wearing,” Don commented. “Why does she traipse around in those things? She’s six feet tall to begin with.”  
“Does it make you feel diminutive, honey?” Sloan asked him.   
Don playfully hit Sloan’s arm, “Shut up!”  
Sloan smirked at him.   
“What’s up, guys?” Kate chirped when she arrived at their table. She leaned her elbows on the high top to prevent herself from falling over. Will stood up and offered Kate his seat which she took.   
“It’s getting late. We should go,” Mackenzie said to Will, wanting to give Jim and Kate a moment alone.   
“Right,” Will said, realizing what Mackenzie was trying to do. “Goodnight.”  
He took some cash out of his wallet and handed it to Jim.   
“Get Kate home safely. We don’t need to give Leona another reason to hate us.”  
Jim nodded, “Of course.”  
“My mother doesn’t hate you, you Daniel Craig wannabe,” Kate said to Will, laughing to herself.   
Will just smiled at Kate before he left Hang Chew’s with Mackenzie in tow.   
“I’m going to the ladies room,” Sloan said. “Be right back.”  
“I’m getting another drink,” Don said.   
Soon Jim and Kate were the only two left sitting at the table. Jim flagged down a nearby waiter and asked for water for Kate.   
“I don’t need water! I’m not drunk!” Kate argued.   
Jim chuckled, “I think you’re a _little_ drunk.”  
Kate smirked, “Okay, maybe I am. But just a little bit.”  
Jim smiled. Kate was just too damn charming. Especially after she had had a couple of drinks.   
“Listen, I’m really sorry about Reese. I feel awful,” Kate said. “He was just trying to protect me. I told him I don’t need protecting though.”  
“Shh, we can talk about it tomorrow when you’re more sober,” Jim said.   
Kate nodded, “Deal.”  
The waiter brought over Kate’s water.   
“So, my mom’s going out of town tomorrow. She’ll be in Los Angeles for the next week on business,” Kate said, before taking a sip of her water.   
“Is that so?” Jim asked.   
Kate nodded.   
“So you get the apartment to yourself. That’ll be nice,” Jim said.   
Kate nodded and leaned in closer to Jim.   
“I’m allowed to have boys over,” Kate seductively whispered into Jim’s ear.   
Jim could feel his cheeks getting pink. He wasn’t drunk enough for this.   
Kate giggled at his reaction, “In all seriousness, you should come over for dinner tomorrow night after the broadcast.”  
Jim just looked at Kate, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”  
“Aww, come on. I’m a pretty good cook,” Kate tried. She weakly smiled at Jim.   
“It’ll give us a chance to talk,” Kate offered.   
“Ah, what the hell,” Jim said. He just couldn’t resist Katherine Adams’ charm. “It’s a date.”

TBC...   
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

The next night after the broadcast, Kate led Him into Leona’s penthouse apartment.   
“Make yourself at home,” Kate said. “I’m going to go change into something more comfortable.”  
Jim nodded, “Go ahead.”   
Kate headed towards her bedroom and disappeared.  
Jim grabbed the bottle of Merlot he had purchased on his lunch break out of his messenger bag and set it on the coffee table in the penthouse’s living room.   
“Hey, Kate?” he called.   
“Yeah?” Kate called back.   
“Where are the wineglasses?” he asked.   
“There should be some clean ones in the dishwasher,” Kate answered.   
“Thanks!” Jim replied.   
He found the wineglasses and he poured a glass of red wine for both he and Kate. He started looking around the apartment while he waited for Kate to finish getting changed. There were things he hadn’t noticed the last time he was there. Like how the mantle above the glass fireplace was covered with framed photographs. Jim smiled. Most of them were of Kate and Reese throughout the years. Baby pictures, school pictures, graduation pictures. Suddenly one picture in particular caught his eye. He thought it was Kate at first but upon a closer glance, he realized it was Leona when she was Kate’s age. It was a black and white photo of Leona and a dark haired, bearded man. She had her arm around the man’s shoulder and they both had huge smiles on their faces. Jim thought the male figure looked familiar. He picked up the photo and took a closer look. Was that Charlie?   
“You’re the best.”   
Jim turned around. Kate was standing there in a pair of hot pink sweatpants and a University of Southern California sweatshirt.   
“Thanks for the wine,” Kate said, grabbing one of the glasses.   
“Oh, no problem,” Jim said. “Hey, Kate?”  
“Yeah?” Kate asked.   
“Is that Charlie in that picture with your mother?” Jim asked, pointing to the photograph he had just been looking at.   
Kate smiled, “Oh, yeah! It was taken when they were embeds in Southeast Asia together during the Vietnam War. I believe that particular photo was taken in Hanoi.”   
Jim nodded. He knew that Charlie had been embedded as a reporter in Vietnam but he had a newfound respect for Leona now. He knew how tough being an embed was.   
“I didn’t know your mother used to be a reporter,” Jim said.   
Kate nodded, “Mmmm hmmm. She was. She doesn’t like to talk about it that much but Charlie has told me some stories and from what I can gather, she was, well, kind of a bad ass.”   
Kate smirked. Jim chuckled.   
“I bet she was,” Jim said. “I was embedded in the Middle East for a while myself.”   
“Oh, really?” Kate asked, intrigued.   
Jim nodded again, “With Mackenzie.”  
Kate gave Jim an impressed smile. Jim smiled back.   
“Um, I hope you like pasta,” Kate said, heading towards the kitchen. “Because we’re having lemon pasta with asparagus.”   
“Pasta’s great. I love pasta,” Jim said, following her.   
Kate smiled, “Great.”   
“Do you need any help with the cooking?” Jim offered.   
“Nah, I think I’m okay. I did most of it this morning before I left for work anyway. I just need to cook the pasta,” Kate replied.   
“Are you sure?” Jim asked. He didn’t want to impose.   
“Okay, if you really want to help, you can make a salad,” Kate said, getting ingredients out of the refrigerator.   
Jim nodded, “I can make a salad.”  
Kate nodded, “Thanks.”  
“So did you grow up here?” Jim asked, meaning the penthouse.   
Kate nodded again. “Yep. My mom purchased this place after her and my dad got divorced when I was five.”  
Jim nodded. “I always assumed Leona Lansing had some gigantic mansion in Connecticut.”  
Kate chuckled, “Oh, she has one of those, too. There’s an estate in Connecticut, a beach house in The Hamptons, a condo in Miami, timeshare’s in Aspen and The Bahamas—”  
Jim laughed, “Stop it. I get the picture.”  
Kate giggled and nodded, “its ridiculous, isn’t it? But she likes staying here in the wintertime because it’s closer to the AWM building. She hates the cold.”  
Jim nodded, “Got it.”   
Kate started getting plates and cutlery out of the kitchen cupboards while she waited for the pasta to boil.   
“I didn’t know your mom and Charlie had so much history together,” Jim remarked.   
Kate shrugged, “Yeah. They’ve known each other for about forty years but they don’t tell people they worked together in Vietnam so everyone thinks they’ve only known each other since Charlie started working for ACN twenty years ago. But yeah, Charlie’s basically a second father to me. He was always around during my childhood. I wouldn’t have been able to deal with my father’s death if it hadn’t been for Charlie.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, about your father,” Jim said.  
Kate weakly smiled and shrugged, “Thanks. But it’s okay. It was a long time ago. It was about ten years ago.”  
Jim nodded, “And Charlie helped you during that time?”  
Kate nodded in response.   
“My mom isn’t the most maternal person out there so when my dad’s cancer spread and we knew he didn’t have much time left, my mom flew Charlie out to California where I was going to school, to help me through that process.”  
Jim weakly smiled. That sounded just like Charlie. He was always helping others, especially the people who were closest to him.   
“Charlie stopped coming around when I was eight years old or so because that was when he and Nancy adopted Sophie but when my dad was dying, he was there for me. He’s been back in my life ever since.”   
Jim nodded, “Charlie’s a great guy.”  
“He is,” Kate agreed.   
* * *   
“So, what does a ratings expert do exactly?” Jim asked, as they ate their dinner.   
Kate giggled as she began to get tipsy from the wine, “I don’t know? Tries to raise ratings?”  
Jim laughed. So did Kate.   
“How did you become a ratings expert anyway?” Jim asked.   
Kate rolled her eyes, “Ugh, it’s a long story.”   
“Tell me,” Jim said, staring into Kate’s eyes.   
“Okay, well, originally I wanted to go to nursing school after I finished high school,” Kate began, taking a sip from her wine glass.   
“You wanted to be a nurse?” Jim asked, surprised.   
Kate nodded, “But my mother wouldn’t allow it and was vehemently opposed. She said, ‘nursing is no place for a Lansing.’”  
Jim frowned.   
“So instead I went to USC for journalism, intending to follow in my mother’s footsteps. I ended up getting an internship at CNN after I graduated—much to my mother’s displeasure. Then that developed into a full-time position as a ratings analyst for one of their news programs because I was good with crunching numbers. But I only did that for a few years before I quit.”  
“Oh,” Jim said, intrigued. “What were you up to in the meantime?”  
Kate sighed and frowned, “I was a housewife. I didn’t work in order to support my husband’s career.”  
She looked at Jim. Jim could see the embarrassment in her eyes.   
“Anyway, I’m divorced now,” Kate said.   
“Adams,” Jim realized. “Katherine Adams. That’s why your last name isn’t Lansing.”  
“Yeah,” Kate replied. “I kept my married name because Lansing has too much baggage and notoriety. The last name Adams was the only good thing to come out of the marriage.”  
“Do you want to talk about it?” Jim asked, referring to Kate’s marriage.   
Kate shrugged, “I was married to Marcus Adams, the son of Conrad Adams.”  
“Conrad Adams? The California senator?” Jim asked.   
Kate nodded, “Yes. Mark has the same political aspirations as his father. He wants to be a senator someday. We met in college; he lived down the hall from me in my sophomore year. We dated for five or so years, and then we got married while he was finishing law school and I was still working for CNN in Atlanta. Charlie gave me away at the wedding. When Mark finished law school, he wanted to move back to California to pursue his political career. We fought because I didn’t want to give up my position at CNN but he told me to quit and to help him achieve his political goals instead. I stupidly listen to him.”  
She shook her head before continuing.   
“So, I was a housewife for the past three years, helping Mark garner support for his eventual senate campaign. Mom and Reese weren’t happy. They never liked Mark. But there was nothing they could really do. Anyway, everything was going wonderfully in the marriage.” Kate stopped. “Scratch that, things weren’t perfect with the marriage but they were okay. Then he cheated on me.”   
Jim quietly gasped.   
Kate just nodded, “With his secretary. So I filed for divorce and moved back home. My mom and I aren’t that close anymore but I had a feeling she would know what I was going through since she’s been cheated on in the past.”  
Jim nodded and sipped his wine.   
“She and Charlie helped me get the ratings analyst position.”  
“I’m so sorry, Kate,” Jim quietly said.   
Tom Jim’s surprise, Kate started laughing.   
“Oh, you’re sweet,” she said. “But I’m fine. Really. I’m ready for a fresh start.”  
She smiled at Jim. Jim smiled back.   
“This pasta is really good,” Jim said, changing the subject.   
“I’m glad you liked it,” Kate said.   
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a home cooked meal like this,” Jim admitted. “I live off of ramen noodles and TV dinners.”   
Kate laughed, “Me, too actually. I don’t cook very often.”  
“Well you should cook more. You’re good at it,” Jim said.   
Kate smiled at him, “Thank you.”   
Jim smiled back at Kate and tenderly started staring into her eyes. Kate leaned forward, across the dining room table they were sitting at. Jim did the same until their faces were almost touching. Just as their lips were about to touch, Jim felt something warm and wet against his chest. He heard a wine glass shatter against the table. He quickly pulled away from Kate. Jim’s glass of Merlot had gotten knocked over by Kate when they were attempting to kiss each other.   
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” Kate gasped, jumping up from the table to get a towel for Jim.   
She returned a few seconds later with a dish towel.   
“I’ll get your shirt dry cleaned for you,” Kate offered. “Reese gets our housekeeper to do his laundry for him so you could borrow one of his clean shirts to wear in the meantime. I’m sure there’s one or two lying around.”  
“Yeah, okay,” Jim agreed, mopping up the red wine spill with the dish towel that Kate had given him.   
Kate disappeared into a tiny alcove off the kitchen which Jim assumed was the laundry room. She returned a few moments later with a clean white dress shirt.   
“Thanks,” Jim said, taking off his blue dress shirt and handing it to Kate.   
Kate couldn’t help but take a peek at Jim shirtless before she averted her eyes.   
Reese’s shirt was a little snug on Jim but he figured that it would do for now.   
* * *  
After Kate and Jim had cleaned up the dining room, they had retreated to the living room where they were sitting on the couch together, getting to know each other some more.   
“Do you want the rest of the wine?” Jim asked, seeing there was only a mouthful left in the bottle he had brought over.   
“Oh, no, I’m fine,” Kate said. “But thanks.”  
Jim smiled, “I really like you, Kate.”   
Kate smiled back, “I like you, too.”   
She leaned in for a kiss.   
Jim reciprocated and was about to kiss her before he quickly pulled away.   
“We can’t do this. You’re Leona Lansing’s daughter,” he said.  
Kate scoffed, “So what?”  
“You’re not even my boss’s daughter. You’re my boss’s _boss’s_ daughter!” Jim argued. “Don’t get me wrong. I really like you, Kate. I do. You’re wonderful. And I’d love to date you. But I can’t. Your mother would kill me. It looks bad for the company.”   
Kate scoffed again, “ _Bad for the company?_ What about Will and Mac? And Don and Sloan?”  
“They’re not one of _Leona Lansing’s_ children!” Jim argued. “And let’s not forget about your brother who tried to tackle me when he found out we slept together.”  
Kate started laughing, “Reese is harmless. At the end of the day, Reese just wants me to be happy. And you make me happy.”  
Jim bit his lip, “And your mother?”  
Kate gave Jim a reassuring smile, “I’ll deal with her. Don’t worry.”  
Jim relaxed, “Okay.”  
“Okay?” Kate asked.   
Jim nodded, “Okay.”  
Kate smiled. “Now kiss me, you idiot.”

TBC...

  



	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven’t updated in forever! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 

Jim was lying in Kate's bed staring at the ceiling. After their dinner, he and Kate had spent the night together at Leona's penthouse. It was now Friday morning and Jim could hear the shower running as Kate got ready for work. He could just make out the muffled sound of Kate singing Beautiful by Christina Aguilera over the sound of the running water. He smiled to himself. She was absolutely adorable he thought. A few moments later Jim heard the water turn off and the singing was replaced by humming. Kate walked into the bedroom with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her body. 

"Do you need the bathroom?" She asked Jim.   
"Nah," Jim answered. "I'm just going to go to my apartment to get ready."   
"You sure?" Kate asked. "You can take a shower here."   
"No, it's okay. I don't have any clothes or anything here," Jim said. "And I can't keep borrowing Reese's clothing."   
Kate chuckled, "Good point. Can I call you a car at least? To take you to your apartment."   
"A car?" Jim said, surprised.   
Kate shrugged, "It's one of the perks of dating a Lansing."  
Jim chuckled, "I'm okay. I take the subway."   
"Suit yourself," Kate said as she started getting dressed. "I guess you can wear Reese's shirt home, though."   
Jim nodded. "I'll give it back to you tomorrow at work, after I wash it."   
Kate nodded. "That's fine. I'll give your shirt back to you when it comes back from the cleaners."   
Jim nodded, "Sounds good."   
"Again, I'm really sorry about that. I can be such a klutz sometimes," Kate said.  
"No worries," Jim said, pecking Kate's cheek. "Now I really have to go or else I'll be late for work."   
He threw on his pants and the dress shirt of Reese's he was borrowing.   
"How do you wanna handle this at work by the way?" Jim asked. "Keep it on the down low?"   
"For sure," Kate said. "Until I can talk to my mom about it."   
Jim nodded, "I agree."   
“Good," Kate said.   
Jim gave Kate a quick goodbye kiss on the lips.   
"I'll see you at the office," he said.  


***  


               Later that day, the senior staff was in the conference room for their four o'clock rundown meeting. Mackenzie was speaking when suddenly they saw Reese frantically heading towards the conference room. Charlie was following him.   
"Uh-oh," Will said.   
"I wonder what we did now," Neal said.   
Reese suddenly barged into the conference room.   
"Reese, my staff is in the middle of a rundown meeting. You cannot just barge in here and interrupt them!" Charlie said, following Reese into the conference room.   
"Yeah, Reese. What the hell is going on?" Mackenzie demanded.   
"It's nothing to do with News Night," Reese said. "I'm looking for my sister."   
Mackenzie started looking around the conference room. She frowned when she didn't see Kate. Kate usually attended every rundown meeting.   
"I was supposed to have lunch with her in the Executive Dining Room and she didn't show," Reese said. "She isn't answering her cell phone or her office phone I was wondering if any of you know where she is. Charlie hasn't seen her either."   
Jim frowned. Now that he thought about it, he realized he hadn't seen Kate since the noon rundown.   
"I saw her going into an editing bay earlier," Maggie offered. "But that was a few hours ago..."   
"I'll go look for her," Mackenzie said to Reese. She could tell he was frazzled over his sister's sudden and mysterious disappearance.   
"She has to be around here somewhere," Mackenzie heard Charlie say to Reese as she left the room. 

She decided to check the editing bays first since that seemed to be the last place anybody had seen Kate. As she got closer to them, she heard moaning coming from one of them. She frowned to herself. She opened the door to the closest editing bay, where the moaning seemed to be coming from. The lights were off but Mackenzie could make out the faint outline of a woman lying down on the editing’s bay couch. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and she was moaning in pain.   
“Kate?” Mackenzie said, worriedly, flipping on the lights.   
The suddenly burst of light made Kate moan louder.   
“Yeah?” Kate moaned.   
“Are you alright?” Mackenzie asked, kneeling down on the ground in front of the couch so that she could be eye level with Kate.  She noticed Kate was pale and shaking. “You’re as white as a ghost.”   
“I’m fine,” Kate said, not very convincingly. “I just get bad menstrual cramps. I’ll be fine in a little while.”   
“I don’t think you’re fine,” Mackenzie said.   
“I am, I really am,” Kate insisted before she groaned and clutched her stomach.  
Mackenzie felt Kate’s forehead.   
“You have a fever,” Mackenzie remarked.   
“I’m fine,” Kate repeated in a weak voice. “Go back to the rundown meeting.”   
“Should I call your brother? He’s looking for you,” Mackenzie said.   
Kate shook her head, “You don’t need to bother him. I should have texted him to tell him I wasn’t feeling well. Tell him I’m fine though.”   
Suddenly Kate brought her right hand up to her mouth. Mackenzie had enough sense to realize what was coming. She got up and grabbed the trash bin that was in the room, and placed it in front of Kate.   
“That’s it, you need to go home,” Mackenzie said as Kate threw up. “This is not just a simple case of menstrual cramps.”  
Kate nodded, giving in. She felt absolutely terrible. She couldn’t wait to go home and crawl into bed.   
“Can you walk?” Mackenzie asked.   
Kate nodded, “I think so.”   
Mackenzie helped her up. Kate wrapped her arm around the older woman for support as she doubled over in pain.   
“Come on,” Mackenzie said as she helped Kate walk out of the editing bay.

“Is she okay?” Tess asked as everyone in the conference room watched Mackenzie lead Kate into Mackenzie’s office.   
“Kate doesn’t look good,” Neal remarked.  
Charlie and Reese were already rushing out of the conference room and over to Mackenzie’s office.   
“What the hell is going on?” Reese demanded as he watched as Mackenzie helped Kate sit down in an office chair. Kate pulled her legs up to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut as the pain got more intense.   
“Menstrual cramps,” Kate moaned out which caused Reese to blush.   
Mackenzie rolled her eyes at Reese’s reaction.   
“She needs to go home,” Mackenzie said to Charlie.   
Charlie nodded, “Of course. I’ll call a car.”   
“No!” Reese said. “ _I’ll_ call a car.”  
“As long as one of you does it, and fast,” Mackenzie demanded. From what Mackenzie could tell, Kate’s pain seemed to be getting worse by the second.   
“I think she needs to go to the Emergency Room,” Mackenzie said.   
Reese waved his arm in the air as if he thought that was a ludicrous statement. “Not if it’s just menst...womanly things.”   
“Maybe Mac is right,” Charlie said.   
“I’m fine,” Kate insisted before another moan escaped from her mouth.   
“I’ll go call the car,” Reese said. “Hang in there, sis.”  
* * *   


A few minutes later, Kate and Reese were in a town car en route to Reese’s apartment. Reese wasn’t letting Kate go back to their mother’s penthouse by herself. Leona would kill him if something happened to Kate under his watch. Especially since Leona was out of town. Reese also didn’t want his sister to be alone when she was in this much pain. As he watched her writhe around in pain beside him, he frowned. He had dated plenty of women in the past and he had dealt with his fair share of them when they were on their periods. Judging from the amount of pain his sister appeared to be in; he knew that these were not just normal menstrual cramps. Something else had to be going on for his sister to be in such pain.   
“Driver?” Reese said. “Change of plans. Could you take us the closest hospital? Please.”

To Be Continued...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait between updates! I’ll try to update this more regularly but no promises.

“Damn it!”  
Reese was trying to get a soda from the vending machine in the family member’s waiting room of Mount Sinai Hospital and the machine had just rejected his quarter for the third time. He huffed and shook his head.   
“Hi, I’m looking for my daughter, Katherine Adams.” Reese suddenly heard. He could definitely tell that it was his mother’s voice even though it was coming from the other end of the hallway.   
“And just an FYI, I’m Leona Lansing, owner of Atlantis World Media, and I give a lot of money to this hospital so my daughter better be getting the best treatment that’s available...”   
Reese briskly walked down the hall to the nursing station where Leona was standing.   
“Mother,” he said.   
“Oh. Reese, there you are,” Leona said. “Where the hell is your sister and what happened?”   
“Last I heard she just got out of surgery—”  
“ _Surgery!?_ ” Leona interrupted, alarmed. “You didn’t say anything about surgery when you phoned.”   
“I didn’t want to worry you,” Reese said, putting his right hand on Leona’s shoulder. “It was a routine surgery, Kate’s fine. Her doctor will explain everything.”   
Leona just rolled her eyes at Reese.   
Reese sighed.   
They saw a young man wearing blue scrubs, in his late twenties approaching them.   
“There’s her doctor now,” Reese said to Leona.   
“Mrs. Lansing, I presume?” he asked.   
Leona shot the doctor a “You Don’t Know Who I Am?” look which caused the young doctor to slightly shrink away from her.   
Reese sighed again.   
“I’m Doctor Waters, I’m an OB-GYN resident here at the hospital and I performed your daughter’s surgery.”   
“They let a _resident_ operate on my daughter?!” Leona snapped.   
Doctor Waters jumped in surprise.   
“Mother!” Reese said, in an exasperated tone.   
“Okay, sorry,” Leona said, giving the doctor a look indicating that he should continue talking.   
“Yes, well,” Dr. Waters nervously began. “Katherine—”  
“Kate,” Leona corrected.   
“Kate had some ovarian cysts that were causing problems for her reproductive system and one of them burst. That’s what was causing her severe stomach cramping. Fortunately, we were able to do surgery to repair the damage and remove the remaining cysts. She should make a full recovery within a week or two,” Dr .Waters explained to Reese and Leona.   
Leona frowned, “And can she still have kids?”  
“It’s too soon to tell,” Dr. Waters said.   
Leona just sighed and nodded.   
Reese frowned. He knew Leona was desperate for grandchildren and he also knew that his sister wanted to be a mother someday. It would devastate her to find out she might not be able to have children naturally.   
“Can we see her?” Reese asked.   
Doctor Waters nodded, “Yes. Of course. I’ll get a nurse to show you to her room. She’s probably going to be groggy from the anesthesia and the pain medication we’re giving her.”   
Leona and Reese nodded as Doctor Waters waved a nurse over.   
“I’ll have to get her moved to a VIP suite later,” Leona murmured to Reese as they walked to Kate’s room together.   
“That’s not what’s important right now, mom,” Reese said. “She’s okay. That’s all that matters.”  
Leona sighed, “I guess you’re right. I just want your sister to be comfortable. That’s all.”   
They arrived at Kate’s room and the nurse left to give them privacy. Kate was sound asleep.   
“Oh, Katie,” Leona said, gently stroking Kate’s cheek; demonstrating her softer side.   
Reese sat down in a chair beside Kate’s bed.   
A shrill ring suddenly filled the air. Leona’s iPhone was ringing. She checked the call display and rolled her eyes.   
Reese frowned, “Who is it?”   
“Charlie. He’s been calling me ever since I got off the plane. He won’t stop,” Leona said, clearly annoyed.   
“Maybe you should call him back. He probably just wants an update on Kate. I can phone him if you want,” Reese said.   
“No, no, no,” Leona said. “I’ll do it. You stay here with Kate just in case she wakes up. Be right back.”   
Reese nodded.   
Just as Leona stepped into the hallway outside Kate’s room, her phone rang again. She didn’t really need to but she checked the call display again anyway out of habit. Sure enough, it was Charlie again.   
“Charlie?” Leona answered.   
“Leona! There you are!” Charlie said. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”   
“Because I’m a little preoccupied right now,” Leona said. “I just got to the hospital.”   
“Right,” Charlie realized. “How’s Kate?”   
“She’s fine,” Leona answered. “She had some ovarian cysts that were causing complications. She needed surgery but she’s going to be alright.”   
Charlie sighed in relief, “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. Tell her everyone here at ACN wishes her well.”   
“Will do,” Leona said. “Thanks for calling. Kate will appreciate the good wishes.”   
“Uh, there’s one other thing,” Charlie nervously said.   
“Yes?” Leona asked.   
“Did you find the thing?” Charlie asked.   
Leona scoffed, “What ‘thing’?”   
“You know,” Charlie said, lowering his voice. “The _shirt_.”   
“Oh yeah, the shirt,” Leona realized. “Um, no. I didn’t get a chance to look for it. Like I said, I went straight from the airport to the hospital.”   
Charlie sighed, “Right, okay. Well let me know if you find it then.”  
“I will,” Leona said, biting her lip.   
“I’ll come by the hospital later today,” Charlie said.   
“Thanks,” Leona replied. “Kate will appreciate that.”   
“Alright, goodbye, Leona,” Charlie said.   
“Bye,” Leona said before hanging up.   
* * *   
Charlie hung up and sighed. He took a sip of his bourbon just as Will walked into his office.   
“What can I do for you, McAvoy?” he asked.   
“Mackenzie started sending around a get well soon card for Kate,” Will said, holding up an envelope. “We need your signature.”   
“Uh-huh. Of course,” Charlie said, putting on his reading glasses and picking up a pen.   
“Everything okay?” Will asked, sensing that something was off about Charlie.   
“Yes, yes, everything’s fine,” Charlie said. “I just misplaced something. It’s no big deal. I’ll find it.”  
“Was it important?” Will asked.   
“You could say that,” Charlie answered.   
Will just nodded, “It’ll turn up.”   
Charlie nodded in agreement while he signed Kate’s card.   
“There you go,” Charlie said, handing the card to Will.   
“Thanks,” Will said. “How’s Kate doing by the way?”  
“She’s going to be alright. She just got out of surgery. It was ovarian cysts,” Charlie said.   
“Well, that’s good news,” Will said.   
Charlie nodded in agreement. “Hey, I could deliver the card later if you needed me, too,” he offered.   
“No, that’s not necessary,” Will responded. “We’ll just messenger it over with a bouquet of flowers.”  
“No, no, I can do it. I was going to head over to the hospital soon anyway to check on Kate,” Charlie insisted.  
Will shrugged, “Well, okay. I’ll call Angela after everyone’s signed it.”   
Charlie nodded.   
“You wouldn’t know what kind of flowers Kate likes by any chance, would you?” Will asked.   
“Daisies, she likes daisies,” Charlie answered.   
“Daises got it,” Will said. “Thanks.”  
Charlie nodded and picked up his glass of bourbon, “No problem.”   
* * *  
A few hours later, Charlie was hailing a cab so that he could go visit Kate at the hospital.   
“Charlie!”  
Charlie turned around. Jim was chasing after him.   
“Yes, Jim? Did you need something?” He asked, as a cab pulled up to the curb.   
“You’re heading to the hospital, right? To see Kate?” Jim questioned.   
Charlie nodded, “That’s correct. Why?”   
“Well, I was wondering,” Jim started, nervously. “If I could go with you?”   
He looked hopefully at Charlie.  
Charlie sighed. He’d ask questions later.   
He gestured to the cab, “Get in.”   


To Be Continued...   
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

Kate opened her eyes and squinted. Everything was blurry. She could make out the faint outline of a woman sitting at her bedside. Where was she?  
“Mom?” she questioned.  
“Oh, good. You’re awake!” Leona said.  
Kate felt a sharp stab of pain. She groaned and clutched her stomach. Everything came flooding back to her. She remembered getting cramps at work, going to lie down in the editing bay; Mackenzie finding her; and finally Reese taking her to the hospital. When she arrived at the hospital, they did an ultrasound and before she knew it, they were rushing her off to surgery and Reese was signing the consent forms.  
“The nurse left some pain medication for you to take when you woke up,” Leona said, passing Kate a paper cup with a Percocet in it and a plastic cup of water.  
Kate nodded and swallowed down the pill, grimacing in pain. “Thanks.”  
“Do you need anything else?” Leona asked. “Reese is here, too. He just went to get a coffee.”  
“I’m fine, I think,” Kate said, as she tried to move into a more comfortable position.  
“Wait? Did you cut your business trip short and fly all the way back from LA?” Kate realized.  
Leona nodded, “Mom hmm. Of course. I got the jet ready to go as soon as Reese called me and told me what happened.”  
Kate raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t like her mother.  
“Why do you look so surprised?” Leona asked. “You’re my daughter and you’re sick. Of course you come before work.”  
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t always like that,” Kate muttered.  
Leona scoffed, “Katherine.”  
“What? It’s the truth!” Kate exclaimed, now feeling a bit more like herself.  
Leona just sighed and rolled her eyes. “I got you something in LA.”  
She reached underneath her chair and pulled out a shopping bag which she passed over to Kate.  
Kate just sighed and pulled out the object that was in the bag. It was a black leather briefcase.  
“You didn’t have one so now you don’t have to keep borrowing mine,” Leona said. “Do you like it?”  
“It’s great, but...” Kate began. She wanted to make a remark about how Leona was trying to buy her love but she stopped herself. She was too tired and sore from the surgery to argue with her mother. “Thanks, mom. I really appreciate it.”  
* * *  
“So, you and Kate...” Charlie started saying to Jim as their cab drove down Madison Avenue.  
“We’re seeing each other,” Jim admitted. “I think.”  
“You think?” Charlie questioned.  
“Well, we’ve been hanging out and I thought we were going to talk today but then her medical emergency happened,” Jim said. “So...yeah.”  
Charlie just nodded.  
“Mrs. Lansing’s going to kill me,” Jim realized.  
“I’ll deal with Leona,” Charlie said.  
Jim just nodded and stared out the window of the cab as New York City passed by them.  
“Jim?” Charlie said a moment later.  
“Yeah?” Jim responded.  
“Where did you get that shirt?” Charlie questioned.  
“It’s Reese’s,” Jim admitted. “I had dinner with Kate last night at her apartment and we accidentally spilled red wine on mine. So Kate gave me this one. I shouldn’t have worn it to work but I didn’t have time—”  
“Jim,” Charlie cut him off. “It’s not Reese’s shirt. It’s my shirt.”  
* * *

Kate was dozing, Leona was flipping through a magazine and Reese was checking his emails on his Blackberry when Charlie knocked on the door to Kate’s hospital room.  
“Come in,” Leona said.  
Charlie entered the room, carrying a bouquet of flowers and a card, followed by Jim.  
Leona scowled. “What is he doing here?” she asked Charlie.  
“I wanted to see Kate,” Jim answered before Charlie had a chance to answer for him.  
“Maybe we should talk in the hallway,” Charlie suggested. “We don’t want to wake up Kate.”  
Leona took a second look at Jim. Then she looked at Charlie.  
Charlie looked away.  
“Um, yes, the hallway. That’s a good idea,” Leona said, touching Kate’s cheek as she stood up.  
“Be right back,” she said to Reese.  
The two men and Leona stepped into the hallway.  
“Charlie and I need to talk. Go get yourself a soda or something,” Leona said to Jim.  
“Yes, Mrs. Lansing,” Jim said, not wanting to anger Leona.  
“He’s officially seeing Kate,” Charlie said to Leona as they watched Jim walk down the hallway.  
“Gee, Buster. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out,” Leona said. “That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”  
Charlie sighed, “I found my shirt.”  
“Yeah, Jim Harper’s wearing it,” Leona said as she took off her glasses.  
“They had dinner together last night and he spilled wine on his own shirt. Kate thought it was Reese’s shirt when she found it in the laundry room,” Charlie said.  
“And did you tell him it was your shirt?” Leona asked.  
“Obviously. I had to,” Charlie answered.  
“How much does he know?” Leona murmured.  
Charlie sighed, “Enough. I just told him that we had a dinner meeting together one night at the apartment and the same thing happened,  I spilled wine on my shirt and you offered to get it dry cleaned.”  
“You don’t drink wine, Charlie,” Leona said.  
Charlie just nodded and furrowed his eyebrows.  
 “We have got to be more careful,” Leona said.  
Charlie nodded, “I know.”  
Leona sighed and shook her head, “I need to go talk to the nurses about getting Kate transferred to a nicer part of the hospital. I’ll deal with you and this later.”  
 Charlie nodded. He looked up and down the hallway and made sure nobody was watching before giving Leona a quick, soft, tender kiss on the forehead.  
“Kate’s going to be okay,” he said, sensing Leona’s nervousness and tension. Not just over Kate’s medical emergency but over the fact that Kate was dating Jim Harper, and the increased risk now that the employees at ACN—and especially the _News Night_ team—might find out about Charlie and Leona’s personal, romantic, relationship.  
Leona nodded, giving him a silent ‘I know’, desperately trying to keep it together.  
Jim came walking back down the hallway.  
“So, you’re dating my daughter?” Leona asked him, clearing her throat and cocking her head to the side.  
“Yes, Ma’am. I mean, Mrs. Lansing,” Jim answered. He wasn’t normally so nervous but something about Leona Lansing unnerved him.  
“Oh, please. If you’re going to be dating my daughter, call me Leona,” Leona said. “As much as I don’t like it, we’re family now.”  
Jim nodded, “Yes, Mrs...Leona.”  
Leona sighed, “I guess you have my blessing.”  
“Thank you, Leona,” Jim said, grateful that Leona was warming up to the idea of him dating Kate.  
“One more thing,” Leona said, putting her glasses back on.  
Jim nodded, waiting.  
“You better not break her heart like the last guy she was with did. If you do, I’ll have to kill you,” Leona said before swiftly turning around and briskly walking back into Kate’s hospital room.

 

To Be Continued... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: I know it’s been forever since I’ve updated this story because I was really busy with school for the past couple of months but I’m off school for four months now so if you’re still interested in this story, let me know by leaving a comment or a kudos? I definitely want to finish this story this summer because it’s a story that I conceived of LAST summer so I definitely plan on finishing it eventually. Thanks for sticking with it and with me if you read this chapter!


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m home!”  
It was one week after Kate’s surgery, and she was at the penthouse, resting on the living room couch. She had been vegging out in front of her mother’s large flat-screen television, watching a Dance Moms marathon, eating Doritos and drinking a can of Diet Dr. Pepper when she heard Leona arrive home from work.   
“Well, you must be feeling better,” Leona said, walking into the living room, seeing the bag of Doritos and the soda can on the coffee table.   
Kate blushed, “Yeah…”  
“So, maybe you can go back to work soon,” Leona said.   
Kate nodded, “Hopefully. I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday. I’m bored out of my mind at home.”  
Leona just nodded, taking off her jacket and flinging it on a nearby chair.   
Things between Leona and Kate had steadily been getting better since Kate’s health scare. Their relationship was improving; it was getting back to the way it used to be before Kate had gone off to college and their relationship had disintegrated. Leona was even somewhat accepting of Jim and Kate’s relationship. She was slowly getting used to the fact that her daughter was dating Jim Harper.   
“Who are the cupcakes from?” Leona asked Kate, seeing a box of them sitting on the dining room table.   
Kate smiled, “Jim. He came by on his lunch break to visit and he dropped them off.”   
Leona nodded again, “Of course.”  
Since Kate’s release from the hospital Jim was always coming by the penthouse to spend time with Kate and to give her get-well-soon presents.   
“Didn’t you have an event to attend tonight?” Kate asked her mother as she reached for the television remote and muted the TV.   
Leona nodded, “A charity gala at the MET. I just came home to get changed. Oh, and I have a present for you.”  
“Another present, mother?” Kate called after her mom, as Leona disappeared into the foyer of the penthouse in order to retrieve Kate’s present.  
Leona shrugged, walking back into the living room carrying a shopping bag.   
“I just saw these and thought you would like them,” Leona said, handing a shopping bag to Kate as she sat down beside her on the couch.  
Kate nodded and started to un-wrap the tissue paper.   
“Pajamas?” Kate questioned, pulling out a pair of pale pink, silky pajamas with black trim.   
“Well, you can’t keep wearing those ratty things!” Leona exclaimed, gesturing to Kate’s old University of Southern California sweatpants from her college days that she was currently wearing.  
Kate just chuckled. After being back at her mother’s place for a few months now, she had learned to just go along with the outrageous things Leona said and her blunt delivery.   
“These pajamas do look comfy,” Kate said. “Thanks, mom.”  
She hugged Leona.  
Ever since buying Kate the briefcase, Leona had been coming home with gifts for Kate for the past few days after her hospital stay. At first Kate had thought it was Leona attempting to buy Kate’s love—and she had even accused her mother of it too after Leona presented her with the briefcase—except now Kate realized that Leona wasn’t trying to buy Kate’s love; buying gifts for people was how Leona showed her love. Kate didn’t necessarily agree with how materialistic that kind of a thought process was but she wasn’t going to start an argument with Leona over it anytime soon. She was becoming appreciative of Leona and the items Leona had been buying her over the last few days.   
“So, you’re starting to feel better?” Leona asked, rubbing Kate’s back.   
Kate nodded, “Mmm hmmm.”  
Leona smiled, “Good!”  
She had hated watching her daughter be in pain over the past couple of days while Kate recovered from her surgery.   
“This wasn’t the first time that this happened, ya know,” Kate suddenly said.   
“That what happened?” Leona asked, confused.   
“That I had ovarian cysts and needed surgery. It happened before. When I was back in California,” Kate explained.   
“Oh, “Leona said. “You never told me.”  
Kate shrugged, “We weren’t speaking then.”  
Leona sadly nodded, “Right.”  
Kate suddenly teared up.   
“Katie, what is it?” Leona asked, alarmed.   
“Uh, I was pregnant. When it happened. Three years ago. I had an ovarian cyst that burst and it caused a miscarriage,” Kate admitted, tears suddenly streaming down her cheeks.  
Leona quietly gasped, “Oh, Katie.”  
She wrapped her arms around her daughter.   
“It’s okay,” Leona soothed.   
“I’m sorry I never told you,” Kate cried. “But like I said, we weren’t speaking to each other at that time.”  
“Shh, it’s alright,” Leona comforted. She was upset that Kate had held that information from her for all these years but now was not the time to chastise. She just wanted to comfort Kate.   
“It’s okay,” Leona said. “It’s gonna be okay.”  
Kate hastily wiped her eyes.   
“Did anybody know besides Mark?” Leona asked, pulling away from Kate.   
“Um, Charlie knew. I called him and told him,” Kate admitted.   
“Oh,” Leona said, a bit aghast that Charlie had kept it from her. She wasn’t surprised that Kate had never told her but she was shocked that Charlie never said anything.   
“Remember that weekend he took Sophie to California to supposedly look at colleges?” Kate asked.  
Leona nodded and looked down.   
“I needed somebody besides Mark to comfort me! I didn’t want to tell you. Charlie was the right person for the job,” Kate calmly explained. “He is like my second father after all.”   
Leona nodded, “No, no I get it. Kind of.”  
Kate bit her lip, “Are you mad at me?”  
Leona sighed, “I’m disappointed in you, Katherine. For not telling me. But I’m not mad. I’m sorry you had to go through that. And I’m glad Charlie was there to help you through it.”   
Kate nodded, “He’s a good guy.”  
Leona nodded in agreement, “He is a good guy.”  
Even though she and Charlie had their disagreements, at the end of the day, both Charlie and Leona cared very deeply for one another. They also had a lot of history between them.   
Leona gently rubbed Kate’s back, trying to calm her down.   
“Sorry I robbed you of what might have been your only chance to have a grandchild,” Kate said.   
“Shh, don’t worry about that. You’ll get pregnant again sometime in the future. When it’s the right time,” Leona said, giving Kate a peck on the cheek. “And you’re going to be a great mother someday. I know it.”  
Kate weakly smiled at Leona which elicited a smile from Leona in return.   
“And when that time comes, I’ll pay for the best fertility specialists in the world to treat you,” Leona said.  
Kate responded with a small nod.   
“I love you, Kitty Kat,” Leona said.   
Kate could see from the warmth and compassion that was emanating from Leona’s eyes that Leona really meant it.   
“I love you, too, mom,” Kate said. “You better go get ready for your gala though. You don’t want to be late.”  
Leona nodded and rubbed Kate’s shoulder, “Right.”

With one last peck to Kate’s forehead, Leona got up from the couch and walked down the hallway to her Master Bedroom. She sat down on the edge of her large king-size bed and rummaged through her purse until she found her iPhone. She composed a text to Charlie. 

We need to talk. Meet me in the AWM Executive Dining Room tonight at midnight. 

* * * * *  
Charlie had already been planning to work late that night when he received Leona’s text to meet him at midnight. He was used to them arranging late night meetings. Partly to conceal the less professional aspects of their relationship but also because Leona was a busy woman and sometimes the most convenient time for her to meet was at midnight or later, depending on her schedule and its demands. Around midnight that night, Charlie gathered up his paperwork into a neat pile that he could return to in the morning, powered down his computer and took the elevator up to the Executive Dining Room.  
Leona was already waiting for him, looking exquisite as always. She was wearing a sleek, long-sleeve, body hugging black gown so Charlie assumed she must have just come from a party or a gala. After noticing her dress, the second thing Charlie noticed was that Leona did not look happy. She had a disapproving scowl on her face.   
“Charlie,” Leona said, not even bothering with a “hello.”   
“Leona,” Charlie responded in a similar fashion. He could tell Leona was in one of her moods. He didn’t know what he had done to upset or anger her so much, but he knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good.   
“May I ask what this is all about?” Charlie asked her as he stood directly across from her.   
“You knew about Kate’s miscarriage,” Leona said in her trademark sharp tone of voice, with her hands placed squarely on her hips.  
Charlie paled and cleared his throat, “I did. She called me when it happened and I flew down there.”  
“And you didn’t think to tell me? You knew she and I weren’t speaking. You didn’t think I’d at least like to know?” Leona argued, clearly upset. She was on the verge of tears.   
“She told me not to tell you. I decided to respect her wishes,” Charlie reasoned, trying to remain calm.   
“I’m her mother!” Leona argued, beginning to raise her voice.  
Charlie raised his voice in return, feeling a sudden surge of anger course through his body. “And you know what, Leona? I’m her father!”   
“You’re Kate’s father?” Leona and Charlie suddenly heard somebody say behind them.   
They turned around in unison. Will McAvoy was standing there, staring at Charlie with a bewildered and confused expression on his face.   
To Be Continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Again, sorry for the long wait in between updates! Life got in the way and prevented me from updating. Thanks for reading this chapter if you’re still sticking with me! Reviews are great and much appreciated!


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